Advent's sales record is even more impressive if you consider the dynamics of the retail scene.
In the 70s, there was practically a stereo shop on every corner. The Advents were a relative bargain at the retail price, but there were a lot of cowboys (and I don't mean that disparagingly) who routinely slashed the price to take business away from the next store down the street.
So the profit margin was slim. Some dealers were true believers, but more of them would try to sell you a different brand (selling "against" the Advent) once you were in the building.
Also, Advent's (and many other brand's) distribution was loose to say the least. Pretty much any store proprietor could get Advents anytime they wanted some, from another dealer who had over-bought in order to get a better price.
This led to all sorts of shenanigans. One of the biggest stores in my area was not an Advent dealer, but kept a pair on display, albiet on the top shelf of a staircase type of display, where the customers couldn't reach them. They had the speakers on the shelf upside down, but with the grilles mounted rightside up. So the big hole in the grille frame was in front of the tweeter, and the tiny tweeter hole was blocking most of the woofer.
And the salesman would say, sure, we have "the Advent", but you really should compare them to these other speakers first... with the outcome pretty much pre-determined.
The pics that MrH posted were from a Tech HiFi ad (big chain in the northeast). It wasn't unheard of for one of their sales people to break the air seal on the Advent demos. It was all about the $$$.
As a contrarian I could always name a speaker or two that I liked better. But at the price they sold for, the value was undeniable.
Would've been even better if it weren't for that damn foam.
